*Book Review*
Author- Matt HaigGenre- History, Romance
Rating- ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Tom Hazard looks like a 40 years old man. But he has been around for a really long, long time. Four hundred twenty nine years to be exact. So how does it feel to exist since the beginning of everything?
To see a new world unfolding everyday in front of your eyes? What is that one thing that keeps us going, for four centuries?
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"𝙈𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚. 𝙋𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝, 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨.”
Eternity seems to be a lucrative offer but honestly I doubt that. As Tom observed throughout his life,
"𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧".
So I believe eternity is a confusing mess.
Tom Hazard was born on 3rd March 1581. As the story progresses it is revealed he suffers from a condition called ' Anageria' where the body doesn't age according to normal physiology. Even at the age of 18, Tom looked like a 12 years old and at the age of 429, he looked like a man in his early forties.
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Turns out, being different from the mass was never a good idea in any period of time, which Tom realised early in his life. After being banished from France due to religious persecution (the Hugeunots protests in 16th century), Tom and his mother took shelter in England. But due to their mysterious circumstances, his mother is killed by witch hunters.
Later he finds his one true love, Rose on the streets of London, starts a family but as eternity is a painful business, time snatches away all those happiness
along its course.
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The real fun part of this novel is , 'name dropping'.
Famous people over the course of history are scattered like gemstones.
Tom played lute at The Globe Theatre for a certain Mr. Shakespeare who was a a very kind man.
He couldn't burn down a hut in Tahiti though Capt. Samuel Wallis asked him to and eventually went on Capt. James Cook's voyage to discover new places.
He wasn't very active during the World Wars but he had a brief encounter with a few Fitzgeralds and a Chaplin .
I wish there was more insight to all these incidents but then I guess the author didn't want to make it a tedious read.
Now every story has its own share of good and bad people. This novel is no different. But I won't be revealing anything more than that.
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Throughout his long life, Tom searches for true self and destiny.
He can't fall his love because that would anchor him. And he knows that is dangerous for someone like him.
Throughout the novel ,the author throws a question to his readers
"𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧?"
But I think he answered this in his last line.
Read yourself and find out!
Highly recommended for all.
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